Spreading The Honors Around Some Consider Doing Away With Valedictorians, Salutatorians

June 16, 1992|by JOSEPH P. FERRY, The Morning Call

Both of Allentown's high schools have a senior class valedictorian and salutatorian. Quakertown and Pennridge do not. Neither do Emmaus and Upper Perkiomen.

Souderton has them but might get rid of them. North Penn has them although officials there tried to scrap them a couple of years ago.

Like the slide rules and ink wells of past generations, another staple of American education is gradually going by the wayside in public school systems.

Traditionally, the honor of greeting graduating high school seniors and their families at a commencement goes to the senior with the second highest grade point average -- the salutatorian.

The task of looking back at their previous four years together and offering words of wisdom for the future goes to the senior with the highest academic average -- the valedictorian.

But as the past week or so of graduations has shown, very few schools use the same criteria in picking their student speakers. Some officials say the break in tradition is as simple as wanting to spread the honors around to the student body as a whole.

Others say it's not fair to single out top students who may be separated by mere fractions of a percentage point.

But those in favor of keeping the custom argue that having a valedictorian and salutatorian is the most appropriate way to recognize students for their years of hard work. It also helps out when colleges are making decisions on handing out scholarships, they say.

Whatever the rationale, one thing is clear -- more and more high schools are getting away from the practice of elevating only two students above the rest to speak at graduation.

It's been more than a decade since the Pennridge School District singled out a valedictorian and a salutatorian, according to Superintendent Dr. John Slattery. Today, all students who finish in the top 10 percent of their class are honored at an annual banquet, and two are selected to speak at commencement based on their total accomplishments, he said.

"The way I understand it is some of the GPA's were so close, sometimes the difference came down to one student getting a B in phys ed in ninth grade," said Slattery, himself a high school valedictorian by the slimmest of margins. "I look back and think of how close I was to not being honored. I think it's more meaningful to honor more people."

It's been even longer since they've had valedictorians and salutatorians at Quakertown, according to high school principal James Beerer.

"I've been here for 23 years, and we haven't had them," said Beerer. "We believe in the phrase `we, not I.'"

These days, student speakers at Quakertown's graduation are chosen for their academic achievements as well as their commitment to school activities. Individuals are recognized for their academic performance in College Preparatory courses, Business Education, General Education, Technical Education and Vocational Education.

Souderton principal Andreas Demidont agrees that making a distinction can sometimes be difficult. He's in the early stages of trying to develop a policy that would open the doors to all students to serve as speakers at graduation.

"If it was up to me, it would be a more competitive process," said Demidont. "I'm not sure we're sending the right messages with the way we do it now."

Three years ago, North Penn principal Dr. Juan Baughn tried to scrap the tradition of having only the top two students by academic average speak at graduation. But the experiment died because students and their parents were vehemently against changing the status quo, he said.

Now, the top two students are given the option of speaking at graduation. If either one declines, the opportunity is extended to all students through a competitive process. So far, no one has turned down the chance, according to Baughn.

"People were very clear in wanting to keep things the way they were," said Baughn. "I think we have the perfect solution. It has worked out well."

Emmaus High School principal Dr. George Anderson said the valedictorian-salutatorian setup was canned about five years ago when the district switched to a percentile ranking system for student grades.

Now, the student with the highest average is guaranteed a speaking slot at graduation. The rest of the students in the 100th percentile are given an opportunity to compete for two more spots, as selected by seniors in the National Honor Society. Those three are joined at the graduation podium by the vo-tech student with the highest average, according to Anderson.

"I like this way a lot better," he said. "One, it eliminates the unhealthy competition at the top. It spreads around the glory, it makes the National Honor Society people feel good, and it gives more people a chance to get involved."

The Allentown School District's two high schools -- Dieruff and William Allen -- both still adhere to the tradition, according to acting superintendent Ray Erb. Until a few years ago, the top 1 percent of the student body was recognized without specifically identifying individual ranks, he said.

But in response to student pressure, the district decided to go back to the tradition of having a salutatorian and valedictorian based on cumulative academic average. The two candidates are offered the opportunity to speak at graduation, and they may decline, according to Erb.